I was born in 1984. All irony aside, I can clearly remember a time when waiting in the grocery line, sitting in traffic, simply being bored or having free time meant either daydreaming or coming up with something tangible, something not linked to the internet (or my digital persona) to do with myself. Even 10 years ago, the internet was a free time activity – not a 24/7 obsession.

When I made the move to reprieve myself from facebook I lost sleep over it. Seriously. I felt like my digital self had died a little bit and I was worried what my family and friends might think about my “anti-social” media decision.

After a day and a half of itching to go back, I feel confident about my decision for the following reasons:

1) The instinct to post about life cheapens the living in the moment. I can recall numerous times when I’ve missed out on being present due to coming up with a status update to share.

2) I miss the excitement of catching up with friends and being surprised by what’s going on in someone’s life – by having a real life conversation with depth and meaning rather than relying on the snippets I’ve seen through various status updates.

3) I am honestly bothered by how conceited people have become. The concept of “selfies” is beyond me. Why do people feel the need to take pictures of themselves on a daily basis? Are said selfie addicts afraid they are going to forget what they look like?

So that’s the crux of it.

I still appreciate the connectivity of social media and blogging, especially living so far from family for the past few years. But for now I just need a break from it all. I want to concentrate and focus on my goals without the instinct to get caught up in the comparison game. I might go back once I’ve gained momentum on some personal goals, or I may find that after a while, it’s not that hard to live with out it.

////

As for the photo’s. There’s a really cool creative district in between Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu called Kaka’ako. One of the visual features of these few blocks is the street art painted on the walls of abandoned property or the sides of warehouses. Most of the street art is done by a local group called Pow Wow Hawaii, and the local community supports what some may call graffiti as street art.